Chinese

Ask and Answer Price in Chinese | Guide & Vocabulary

Bubble Tea Island

If you’re planning a trip to Taiwan or engaging in business dealings with Taiwanese companies, it’s essential to know how to express price in Chinese. Taiwan has its unique monetary system and currency, and it’s crucial to learn how to express price accurately and correctly in Chinese. In this article, we will guide you through the basics of expressing price in Taiwan.

How much does it cost in chinese

Taiwanese Currency System

Taiwan uses the New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) as its currency. The symbol for the New Taiwan Dollar is “NT$” or “ๅฐๅนฃ” (ใ„Šใ„žหŠ ใ„…ใ„งห‹) in Chinese. Notes come in denominations of NT$100, NT$500, NT$1,000, along with some rare NT$200 and NT$2,000 bills. Coins come in denominations of NT$1, NT$5, NT$10 and NT$50. The New Taiwan dollar’s subdivisions, or cents, are not commonly used in consumer transactions because most products are sold in whole dollars. However, banks do keep track of cents.

Learn more about the history of Taiwanโ€™s curreny

Basic Numbers in Chinese

Before we dive into expressing prices, let’s first learn some basic Chinese words for numbers:

NumberCharacterBopomofoPinyin
1ไธ€ใ„งyฤซ
2ไบŒใ„ฆห‹รจr
3ไธ‰ใ„™ใ„ขsฤn
4ๅ››ใ„™ห‹sรฌ
5ไบ”ใ„จห‡wว”
6ๅ…ญใ„Œใ„งใ„กห‹liรน
7ไธƒใ„‘ใ„งqฤซ
8ๅ…ซใ„…ใ„šbฤ
9ไนใ„ใ„งใ„กห‡jiว”
10ๅใ„•หŠshรญ
100็™พใ„…ใ„žห‡bวŽi
1,000ๅƒใ„‘ใ„งใ„ขqiฤn
10,000่ฌใ„จใ„ขห‹wร n
Read our complete guide about numbers in Chinese

The Words ้Œข, ๅ…ƒ, and ๅกŠ

Understanding the different words used for expressing price in Taiwan is important for effective communication in daily transactions.

Bubble tea saying money in chinese

The most commonly used word for money in Taiwan is “้Œข” (ใ„‘ใ„งใ„ขหŠ), which literally means โ€œmoneyโ€. It is also used to refer to small amounts of money or loose change.

The word “ๅ…ƒ” (ใ„ฉใ„ขหŠ) is used to describe the unit of currency in Taiwan. It is equivalent to one dollar, and is used for expressing the price of most products and services. When used in combination with numbers, it can express larger amounts of money. For example, “ไบ”็™พๅ…ƒ” means “five hundred dollars.” The word “ๅ…ƒ” is also used for expressing monetary value in formal settings, such as on receipts, invoices, and bank statements.

The word “ๅกŠ” (ใ„Žใ„จใ„žห‹) is another way of expressing one dollar, and it is more commonly used in casual conversations. It is also used to express price in a more conversational tone, and is often used in street markets or small stores.

ChineseBopomofoPinyinEnglish
้Œขใ„‘ใ„งใ„ขหŠqiรกnMoney
ๅ…ƒใ„ฉใ„ขหŠyuรกnDollar (formal)
ๅกŠใ„Žใ„จใ„žห‹kuร iDollar (conversational)

Asking How Much It Costs in Chinese

To ask how much something costs, you can simply say “ๅคšๅฐ‘้Œข?” (ใ„‰ใ„จใ„› ใ„•ใ„ ห‡ ใ„‘ใ„งใ„ขหŠ?), which means “how much does it cost?“. To specify the item you’re asking the price for, you can use “้€™ๅ€‹” (this) or “้‚ฃๅ€‹” (that) before “ๅคšๅฐ‘้Œข?” while pointing at the object.

ๅคšๅฐ‘้Œข?ใ„‰ใ„จใ„› ใ„•ใ„ ห‡ ใ„‘ใ„งใ„ขหŠ ?duล shวŽo qiรกn?How much does it cost?

Answering Price in Chinese

And if you want to answer the price, you can just say:

Something + number + ๅกŠ (้Œข) / ๅ…ƒ

For example:

  • ้€™ๅ€‹่›‹็ณ•ไธ€็™พๅกŠ (ใ„“ใ„œห‹ ใ„ใ„œห‹ ใ„‰ใ„ขห‹ ใ„ใ„  ใ„ง ใ„…ใ„žห‡ ใ„Žใ„จใ„žห‹) – This cake is 100 NT dollars.
  • ้‚ฃไปถ่กฃๆœๅ…ฉ็™พไบ”ๅๅ…ƒ (ใ„‹ใ„šห‹ ใ„ใ„งใ„ขห‹ ใ„ง ใ„ˆใ„จหŠ ใ„Œใ„งใ„คห‡ ใ„…ใ„žห‡ ใ„จห‡ ใ„•หŠ ใ„ฉใ„ขหŠ) – That piece of clothing is 250 NT dollars.

How Discounts Are Expressed in Chinese?

Bubble tea buy one get on free

Discounts in Chinese are expressed as “ๆŠ˜ๆ‰ฃ” (ใ„“ใ„œ ใ„Žใ„กห‹ – zhรฉkรฒu), which literally means “to fold and cut“. However, expressing discounts in Chinese can be a bit tricky to understand at first. Instead of being expressed as a percentage reduction of the original price, discounts are expressed as a percentage of the original price.

For example, “9ๆŠ˜” means that the product costs 90% of the original price, which is a 10% discount. “8ๆŠ˜” means that the product costs 80% of the original price, which is a 20% discount. “7ๆŠ˜” means that the product costs 70% of the original price, which is a 30% discount, and so on.

When you hear the price, you may want to ask if there is any discount available. You can say “ๆœ‰ๆฒ’ๆœ‰ๆŠ˜ๆ‰ฃ?” (ใ„งใ„กห‡ ใ„‡ใ„ŸหŠ ใ„งใ„กห‡ ใ„“ใ„œ ใ„Žใ„กห‹ ?), which means “Is there any discount?” or “ๆ‰“ๆŠ˜ๅ—Ž?” (ใ„‰ใ„šห‡ ใ„“ใ„œ ใ„‡ใ„šหŠ ?), which means “Is there a sale?” For example:

  • ้€™ไปถ่กฃๆœๆœ‰ๆฒ’ๆœ‰ๆŠ˜ๆ‰ฃ? (ใ„“ใ„œห‹ ใ„ใ„งใ„ขห‹ ใ„ง ใ„ˆใ„จหŠ ใ„งใ„กห‡ ใ„‡ใ„ŸหŠ ใ„งใ„กห‡ ใ„“ใ„œ ใ„Žใ„กห‹ ?) – Is there any discount for this piece of clothing?
  • ้€™ๅ€‹็”ขๅ“ๆ‰“ๆŠ˜ๅ—Ž? (ใ„“ใ„œห‹ ใ„ใ„œห‹ ใ„”ใ„ขห‡ ใ„†ใ„งใ„ฃห‡ ใ„‰ใ„šห‡ ใ„“ใ„œ ใ„‡ใ„šหŠ ?) – Is there a sale for this product?

If a product originally costs 100 New Taiwan Dollars and is currently being sold at a discounted price of 8ๆŠ˜, the seller would say “ไธ€็™พๅ…ƒ๏ผŒๆ‰“ๅ…ซๆŠ˜๏ผŒๅ…ซๅๅ…ƒ” (ใ„ง ใ„…ใ„žห‡ ใ„ฉใ„ขหŠ ๏ผŒ ใ„‰ใ„šห‡ ใ„…ใ„š ใ„“ใ„œ ๏ผŒ ใ„…ใ„š ใ„•หŠ ใ„ฉใ„ขหŠ), which translates to “The original price is 100 New Taiwan Dollars, with a 20% discount, the discounted price is 80 New Taiwan Dollars”.

It’s worth noting that discounts are not always expressed as percentages. Sometimes, discounts are expressed in monetary terms, such as “ๆธ›ๅๅ…ƒ” (ใ„ใ„งใ„ขห‡ ใ„•หŠ ใ„ฉใ„ขหŠ), which means “reduce by ten New Taiwan Dollars”.

One of other most common discounts in Taiwan is the “buy one, get one free” promotion, which is translated as “่ฒทไธ€้€ไธ€” (ใ„‡ใ„žห‡ ใ„ง ใ„™ใ„จใ„ฅห‹ ใ„ง). You may also come across “่ฒทไบŒ้€ไธ€”, which means “buy two, get one free”, “่ฒทไธ‰้€ไธ€”, which means “buy three, get one free”, and so on.

Extra Vocabulary

This is a list of extra vocabulary words related to price and shopping in Chinese.

ChineseBopomofoPinyinEnglish
ๅƒนๆ ผใ„ใ„งใ„šห‹ ใ„ใ„œหŠ jiร  gรฉPrice
่ณผ็‰ฉใ„ใ„กห‹ ใ„จห‹gรฒu wรนShopping
่Šฑ่ฒปใ„ใ„จใ„š ใ„ˆใ„Ÿห‹ huฤ fรจiCost, expense
็‰นๅƒนใ„Šใ„œห‹ ใ„ใ„งใ„šห‹tรจ jiร Special price
่ฒทๅ–ฎใ„‡ใ„žห‡ ใ„‰ใ„ข mวŽi dฤnTo pay the bill
็พ้‡‘ใ„’ใ„งใ„ขห‹ ใ„ใ„งใ„ฃxiร n jฤซnCash
ไฟก็”จๅกใ„’ใ„งใ„ฃห‹ ใ„ฉใ„ฅห‹ ใ„‘ใ„งใ„šห‡xรฌn yรฒng kวŽCredit card
่ถ…ๅธ‚ใ„”ใ„  ใ„•ห‹ chฤo shรฌSupermarket
ๅ•†ๅบ—ใ„•ใ„ค ใ„‰ใ„งใ„ขห‹ shฤng diร nStore
่ทณๅƒนใ„Šใ„งใ„ ห‹ ใ„ใ„งใ„šห‹ tiร o jiร Price jump, sudden increase in price
้€€่ฒจใ„Šใ„จใ„Ÿห‹ ใ„ใ„จใ„›ห‹ tuรฌ huรฒReturn of goods
ๆถˆ่ฒปใ„’ใ„งใ„  ใ„ˆใ„Ÿห‹ xiฤo fรจiConsumption, spending
ๆถˆ่ฒป่€…ใ„’ใ„งใ„  ใ„ˆใ„Ÿห‹ ใ„“ใ„œห‡xiฤo fรจi zhฤ›Consumer
็ฏ€็œใ„ใ„งใ„หŠ ใ„•ใ„ฅห‡ jiรฉ shฤ›ngSave money
ๅ”ฎๅƒนใ„•ใ„กห‹ ใ„ใ„งใ„šห‹ shรฒu jiร Selling price
็พ่ฒจใ„’ใ„งใ„ขห‹ ใ„ใ„จใ„›ห‹xiร n huรฒGoods in stock

In conclusion, learning how to express price in Chinese is crucial for anyone planning a trip to Taiwan. By mastering the basics of expressing price in Chinese, you’ll be able to communicate effectively with locals and negotiate prices confidently in traditional markets or small shops.

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